


New Dream

by Destinyisafunnything10



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: F/M, Love, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:06:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25131346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Destinyisafunnything10/pseuds/Destinyisafunnything10
Summary: One shot - Rapunzel’s first ball since her return to the Kingdom. Set a couple weeks after the end of the movie. Rapunzel feels over-whelmed by all the new faces, especially all the Princes taking an interest in her.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Rapunzel, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Comments: 5
Kudos: 55





	New Dream

**Author's Note:**

> My first fan fic on here, I’ve had this idea in my head for a while now. For full effect, play “Kingdom Dance” from the original Tangled soundtrack when the music plays in the last part of this piece :) Sorry if it’s poorly written or there are any spelling / grammar mistakes! Let me know what you think!

"This is it Pascal," Rapunzel sighed heavily.

The chameleon perched on her shoulder puffed out his chest and gave her that determined look which never failed to give Rapunzel that extra bit of encouragement and strength.  


Returning him a nervous smile, Rapunzel lifted her hand and offered the back of her palm for him to hop on to. "I wish you could be there with me, Pascal, but Father thought the guests wouldn’t understand," she explained as she bent down and placed him on a side table.

Straightening again, the Princess shuffled uncomfortably in her outfit. It was her first ball, her ‘Welcome Home’ ball. Her first official appearance since she got back. The thought of stepping through the heavy curtains in front of her into a room full of strangers with all eyes on her made her stomach churn. Rapunzel tugged at her dress for what felt like the hundredth time since her Lady-in-waiting helped her get into it.

The ruby red fabric wrapped tight around her torso, embellished with intricate gold embroidery, the corset doing it’s job of holding everything in and up. The delicate dropped shoulders draped over the tops of her arms which she didn’t mind at all. However, the skirt support beneath her dress scratched at her hips, the stiff shoes she had been forced to wear made her feet burn and sweat.

Rapunzel noted that her Lady-in-waiting had temporarily left her side. She could loose the shoes. Checking over her shoulder, Rapunzel could see that aside from Pascal, she was definitely alone in this hallway. She swiftly kicked off a shoe, but in doing so fell backwards and into a plinth holding an expensive looking vase. Pascal’s eyes widened in horror and promptly clasped his little claws over them.

With cat-like reflexes she managed to snatch the plinth as it teetered with one hand, and steady the vase atop it with the other. In that moment, the trumpets on the other side of the curtain sounded, followed by the Master of ceremony announcing her entrance. Rapunzel quickly kicked her second shoe off to the side where Pascal dragged the pair away, just as the curtains parted, revealing the huge ballroom filled with a sea of people.

As Rapunzel stepped through the threshold, she could see that there must have been a couple hundred guests in the room. They wore fine dresses and suits, decked in jewels and wigs, all turning to gawk at her. The young girl wanted to spin on her heels and run back down the hallway to the safety of her room, but her feet thankfully took over and lead her down the stairs. Thankful to have the bannister to hold to keep her legs from giving way, she gripped it tightly as she gingerly made her way onto the ballroom floor. Her large emerald eyes flitted across the crowd, in desperate search for a familiar face. For Eugene, where was he? Suddenly she realized she was smiling, was she doing that the whole time? It felt so forced, plastered on her face.

Nearing the foot of the stairs, she could see her father now, as if she’d blurred him out and could only concentrate on the many strange eyes fixed on her. Rapunzel was so relieved to feel the warmth of her father’s arm he offered her. She wanted to grab hold and never let go.

"You look beautiful my darling daughter," he beamed.

Her gaze met his warm eyes and she felt her forced smile soften into something genuine. As he led her through the crowd she could see closer up that the guests weren’t so scary. They smiled warmly at her, gave little waves and bows, excited to see the Princess up close.

The King brought Rapunzel to her thrown where her mother waited. As he turned back around to the face the crowd, Rapunzel mirrored him as he lifted the hand in which he held hers.

"Let the celebrations begin!" He bellowed across the room, giving her hand a little squeeze.

The band slipped into a sweet tune that echoed across the room and guests began to chatter amongst themselves.

As Rapunzel settled into her seat, her mother leant in from her own, "You’re doing fantastic sweetie."

"Thanks mom," Rapunzel whispered back. "Hey, have you seen Eu-"

"Princess Rapunzel, what an absolute pleasure it is to see you," came a voice.

"Ahh, Rapunzel," boomed King Fredrick. "May I introduce Prince Andrew of Ruskland. You’ve actually met before when you were both little ones."

The Prince was tall with strikingly blonde hair, almost white and handsome blue eyes. His pale skin free from any imperfections, he must be the same age as her. Prince Andrew stooped down in a bow and took her hand gently in his gloved one to kiss the back of it.

This threw the Princess off guard for a moment, she’d never had someone kiss the back of her hand before like this. Then she remembered her Lady-in-waiting explaining to her that this is how the upper class would great Royal ladies.

"Oh, it’s nice to meet you Prince Andrew...again," she grinned as he lifted his head to make eye contact again.

When the Princess had walked down the stairs in that gorgeous dress, Eugene swore his heart skipped a beat, literally. She looked...well, like a Princess. He’d tried to make eye contact with her but she was understandably overwhelmed by the huge crowd in front of her. As her father took her to the front of the hall, Eugene began to wade through the crowd to greet her himself. As he neared the thrown he saw a tall man beat him to it. Eugene had hoped he would have been able to greet his girlfriend before the guests swarmed in to speak with her. As Rapunzel and the well dressed man struck up a conversation, Eugene looked around him to realize a sort of queue had formed to greet the Princess.

"I say, Prince Andrew works fast," came a voice, clearly belonging to someone who had had many elocution lessons. The ex-theif turned to see two men with the largest grey moustaches he’d ever seen, adorned in a sash full of medals watching the Rapunzel and the strange man talk.

Eugene turned around and cleared his throat, preparing to put on the most upper class accent he could. "I say chaps whatever do you mean there?" Eugene raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips to mimic their pompous stances.

It greatly amused Eugene when the two men thought nothing of it, completely clueless that he was making fun of them.

"Well, look at all these Princes and Lords in line to meet this lost Princess, like bees to a flower," chuckled the second man.

Eugene all of a sudden didn’t find this funny anymore. "Well, I hear she already has a very handsome suitor," Eugene dropped the accent slightly.

"Oh, I’ve not heard that," the first man trailed off, un-interested, his large nose peering over the crowd. "You best get in line if you have any chance with her lad." The two men shuffled away and to Eugene’s dismay joined the queue for the Princess. His gut lurched, they must be as old her Father.

Looking around again, there were a great deal of men here. Not just men, Princes, _handsome_ Princes.

Eugene needed a drink. He slipped back and found a waiter who poured him a large glass of champagne. Eugene promptly up-ended the glass and downed the lot. The waiter in shock passed him another before scuttling away.

It was a party, Eugene loved parties, he was going to enjoy himself.

As the night drew on, Rapunzel found herself feeling more and more overwhelmed by the vast number of people she was meeting. So many names to recall, so many conversations she couldn’t contribute to. The lords and ladies spoke of politics and land management and all she could do is nod and smile. She had to clamp her jaw shut and force herself not to yawn.

At one point she finally managed to slip away from another boring conversation and quickly snap up some appetizers and champagne from a waiter’s platter in a corner of the room. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of Eugene threw the crowd. Her stomach flipped, he looked so handsome in his white suit. His medal of bravery pinned to his chest. The medal he earned for saving her.

Eugene had been cornered by an old man who had been speaking at him for the last 20 minutes about how he couldn’t find a tailor that he really liked, recounting the names and brief life story of each he’d hired and fired. Eugene’s jaw stretched into a yawn and his gaze drifted across the room, his eyes sleepy from the many a dull conversation he’d had that evening. As his gaze shifted he caught sight of Rapunzel giggling at him, her mouth full of snacks. She looked...adorable, honestly, Eugene’s expression instantly brightened, his back straightened.

Eugene made some brief excuses to the old man and began to make his way through the crowd. When all of a sudden a young man and an older lady who looked to be his mother stepped out in front of Eugene, blocking his path to Rapunzel.

"Princess Rapunzel!" The lady shrieked, "My dear, I’d like to introduce you to my son, Prince Hans."

"Oh!" Rapunzel exclaimed in surprise, "My, so many young men I’m meeting her tonight," her voice exacerbated.

As Hans and Rapunzel began introducing themselves, the lady peered back over her shoulder, directly at Eugene and gave him a filthy look. Eugene stared in dis-beleif. She knew very well who he was.

The ex-thief turned on his heels and stormed over to the balcony, snatching another glass of champagne on his way.

The cool fresh air was a blessing, the gentle breeze of the night played with the hair framing his face. Resting on the balcony’s rail, sipping his beverage he felt a flash of anger bubbling up inside him. He couldn’t believe how these men where behaving, like Rapunzel was a prize to be won. They don’t even know her, all they know is that she’s a beautiful Princess worth marrying for politics sake. Do her parents see what’s happening? How all these Princes are drooling over her? It’s disgusting.

An painful thought swept over his mind. Maybe they did know, maybe they were okay with the thought of their daughter marrying a Prince, rather than a thief with no family. Who was he kidding, of course they would be, who wouldn’t?

A quiet conversation from behind him cut into his thoughts when he heard Rapunzel’s name uttered by a pair of ladies in huge wigs. "Isn’t she? You know I saw that she wasn’t wearing any shoes under that dress!?"

"No!" cackled the second, "what sort of Princess is she!?"

"Well, I heard she was raised out in the wilderness so she’s bound to be a bit... _feral,"_ scoffed the first.

Eugene’s grip on the banister grew tighter. He downed his drink, spun on his heels and strode towards the pair of ladies.

Reminding himself to be polite, he relaxed his shoulders slightly and presented himself to the ladies with a small bow. "I’m sorry ladies but I couldn’t help but over-hear your conversation."

The pair in unison took their fans out and began wafting it infront of their faces, "and who might you be?"

"The name is Eugene Fitzherbert," he said flashing them a smile. "I am the man who found the lost Princess Rapunzel and returned her to her family and Kingdom."

One of the ladies cocked an eyebrow, the other whispered to her excitedly, "Oo, the reformed rouge!"

"Yes, well," Eugene cleared his throat, recovering from the title the lady just gave him. "Ahh, so you have heard of me? I hope then you also know that Princess Rapunzel is _not_ feral, she is brave, talented and strong. Right now she needs the support of her people and lords and ladies because she’s _scared_ and I know she would be heart broken if she knew you were speaking about her like that. I am sure she will go on to lead this kingdom with all the grace and beauty of her parent’s before her if you give her a chance." Eugene said, ending with another bow and strutting away.

The ladies looked a little sheepish. "Oh, and she definitely doesn’t need a man to help her do that!" Eugene called back over his shoulder.

Feeling better, Eugene decided to chat some more with some guests, to try extinguish any gossip about the Princess, he needed to defend her honour. Between conversations he caught flashes of the Princess chatting with ladies and lords and Princesses and Princes. She seemed a little more relaxed now. It still bothered him that the men engaging her out-weighed the ladies. She’d accepted a few offers of dances, including from Prince Andrew and Prince Hans who Eugene noticed, held her a little too close than was necessary. He wished he could snatch her away for a dance. Or at least get close enough to her to let her know how beautiful she looked. Every time he tried she seemed to get dragged away or picked off by some guest.

Rapunzel wasn’t stupid, she knew that she’d attracted a lot of attention from the Princes and Lords tonight. She was kind enough to all of them, but there’s only so many times a girl can be told how lovely she looked tonight, knowing full well that they had intentions to sweeten her up and court her.

"I see you’ve met Prince Andrew," giggled a group of Princesses Rapunzel was talking to. "I think he likes you!" Squeaked another.

Rapunzel smiled, "Girls, I’m really not interested, I already have a boyfriend."

"Oh!? Who is he!? Is he handsome?" The youngest whispered.

"Oh he’s handsome alright! But he’s also the most gentle, patient, kind-hearted, supportive man. He’s the one who rescued me and brought me home," Rapunzel grinned.

"Oh, how romantic!" Sighed one of the girls. "Where is he!?"

Rapunzel looked around her and spotted Eugene chatting to a 10 year old Princess who seemed infatuated with him.

Turning back to the group, Rapunzel gave a smile, "do you girls like to dance?"

The girls grinned and nodded excitedly.

"Wait here," Rapunzel left the girls and made her way across the dance floor toward the band. Half-way she was intercepted by Prince Hans, _again._

"Princess! Another dance perhaps?" He smiled, bowing his head, folding at the waist slightly and offering his hand.

"I’m sorry Prince Hans but I already have a dance partner," Rapunzel said coolly without making eye contact or breaking her stride as she swiftly passed the man. She was done with politeness.

The Prince was taken aback and watched her go with a furrowed brow, almost in frustration.

The band were playing their usual steady tune, Rapunzel swore they were playing it on repeat but maybe all these songs just sounded the same.

"Good evening gentlemen," she introduced.

"Princess!" The men looked puzzled. Unsure if they should stop playing and bow, or why the Princess had approached them at all.

"I have a song request please," she smiled.

The men promptly stopped mid-tune. Rapunzel bent down next to the short conductor and whispered in his ear.

"Yes, I know it. But Princess that is a peasant song," retorted the stout musician.

"Oh? Well I love it," the Princess beamed.

"Right you are Princess," the conductor agreed as he went about informing the men of what to play. They seemed pleasantly surprised to be able to play this tune.

The Princess eyed the room for Eugene who she found to still be slumped over a chair having his ear chatted off by the young Princess. As Rapunzel made her way over, she caught the eye of the three Princesses she was talking to previously and winked.

The band burst into song, an upbeat tune that actually had some bounce to it. The melody caught Eugene’s attention immediately. It was the song he and Rapunzel danced to in the streets of Corona. He looked up towards the dance floor to see Rapunzel drifting over.

He straightened his back as she approached and smirked. "May I have this dance, Sir?" The Princess gave a bow and offered her hand.

Eugene’s smirk burst into a wide grin as he took her hand and followed her to the dance floor. He took up her hand and placed a warm hand on the small of her back. They began to swirl slowly to the steady rhythm.

"I thought you’d never ask," he chimed.

"Well I thought it was about time we got this party started," Rapunzel beamed, moving in closer and booping his nose with hers.

"I’ve been dying to tell you all night not only how beautiful you look, but also how well you’ve dealt this evening, meeting so many people and keeping everyone happy. You’ve done it all with the grace of a true Princess," Eugene said, as the music swelled a little, remembering his thought earlier.

Eugene’s words struck her, it was the first time all night she was complemented on something other than her looks. She blushed but brushed it off, "Well, what about my handsome partner, tending to his own social duties," Rapunzel lifted her chin proudly. Just then her eye caught a glimpse of all the guests eyeballing them.

"Everyone is staring," she worried. Eugene took her chin in between his index finger and thumb and pulled it up towards him.

"Well, as you said, let’s give them something to really look at," he said as the music changed tempo and sped up.

Eugene let go of Rapunzel’s chin and spun her around his free hand. The Princess giggled as he grabbed her again and they both pranced around the room together to the quickened pace of the song. Rapunzel’s dress ballooned around her and swirled and twisted, exposing her naked feet. After a couple more spins, Rapunzel saw the three Princesses begin to clap in time to the music.

Eugene let Rapunzel go as she beconned the girls onto the dance floor. The girls seemed hesitant, but after Rapunzel grabbed the hand of the eldest and pulled her onto the floor, each grabbed the one behind and soon they were all on the floor bouncing and spinning and laughing. Eugene spun away to the other side of the floor to find some young Princes who he also dragged onto the floor. More and more people joined as the music got faster and faster. As Rapunzel linked arms with the other dancers and swung them around, she even saw her mother drag the King onto the floor to dance.

Rapunzel and Eugene returned to each other’s embrace and transitioned smoothly into more spins. Neither had any formal dance lessons and yet they looked so good together, spinning around effortlessly, their feet flying across the floor, just as they did on Rapunzel’s birthday. On the final beat the Princess span into Eugene’s arms as he dipped her down towards the floor. Rapunzel giggled, wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his lips. And for that moment, it was just the two of them in the room, ready to take on this new adventure, this new dream.


End file.
